Introduction

[Smurph64]

example notes that I take:

CO CC with J8s and calls down with middle pair.
UTG raise with Axo and bets to river with air
C/R top pair on turn.
Bluff raises and calls on river with 4 flush board.
3 bets top pair no kicker on flop
calls river holding pocket pair with Ace check/raise board
slow plays overpairs

tilts when loses large pot, trash talks,


limps with one caller with any two suited from mp.
plays inside straight draws to the river.

and others similar

, mostly I want to mark down the range of hands they are calling with, what they donk with, what they CC with, what they check/raise with, what they 3 bet with, cap with.

Any information on the hands and the betting action is information I can't get from looking at PA stats.

Calling stations are the main ones I look at as once you figure out their pattern you can beat them with air over and over again.

Tricky slow players I mix up a lot more sometimes 3 betting sometimes calling down, sometimes check/raising.

I always focus on maniacs and calling stations first, then work my way down to what mice 3 bet with or call down with.

I mark down those that I respect raises with so I don't 3 bet QJo after them for example but rather fold.

It doesn't take a lot of 'reads' to start to understand why a player is playing. Once you understand that then you can start to think about how to outplay them.

That is why ABC poker is fine and important but sometimes you have to know when to open up and when to tighten up. This is best achieved by knowing how your opponents are playing around you.

If you can't start taking reads on calling stations first, then maniacs or SLAA's, then TPP, then just pick the most active player on the table when you are in the sb first.

Play everyone one of his hands for two rounds and see if you can spot patterns.

Likely you will start to notice things, Guess what he has and see if you are right at the showdowns he goes to.

This is a skill that takes lots of practice. I sometimes watch tables without playing and study them to see if I can spot things when I don't get to see the whole cards at levels above my bankroll.

I practice hand reads by setting up Poker Academy bots to see if I can break them down.

Whatever works is good, one exercise I used to do is have pt running and playing without PAHUD, take my notes on players and then look at there stats afterwards and see if the two meshed in the way I expected them to mesh.

You would be surprised at how often they differ.


At any rate good luck practicing and hope we see some hand posts from you in the future with some reads.